Thankies for the awesome reviews!! ^_^
Yes, Kenny is the comic relief. I mean, a high-strung, freakish nerd with no eyes? Yes, he doesn't try to be funny but he is, in that sad way. Laughing at, not with, you know? Sadly, it's the way it works.
I've come to realise that, this being my first fic and all, my writing has improved a lot from when I first started! Wouldn't you agree? I think that partially comes with the support and help from all my reviewers. So I'd like to again thank everyone that has reviewed!
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade, obviously.
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Twisted Fate
Chapter 15: False Impressions
The water was rising rapidly, at an exponential rate. It was already at their mouths, and unfortunately for them none of them were in any condition to swim.
They had stopped walking, and now were trying to keep Hilary, Max and Rei within reach of air. It was difficult, when you yourself are hanging onto consciousness by a thread of hope that's been frayed and tattered. And now, it was gone. "Hilary..." Tyson said softly, holding her close.
"Hilary... I'll miss you..." Tyson said quietly, just before the water cut him off.
"And I'll miss you too, Tyson," Hilary murmured, and with that, they collapsed and fell beneath the beckoning darkness of the water.
Cool grey eyes watched, seemingly apathetic but hid many thoughts and feelings. He took a last breath, and let the pain wash over him, his body sinking and unaware. He had fallen alone.
^^^^^
"Chief!" Dizzi cried frantically. "You should... see this..." her digital voice trailed off. She opened an email from "Dr D", and found highly disturbing pictures inside. Not disturbing as in pornography... this was much, much worse.
Kenny leant over and pushed his glasses up. The colour drained from his face as he saw the screen. The limp bodies of the Bladebreakers lay lifelessly under the deathly water. "Oh, god, no..." he whispered, tears leaking down his face. "This... is my fault."
"Chief, it was most definitely not your fault," Dizzi said sternly. "They did firewall it, not allowing us any further access. You couldn't have done anything." Somehow, even her computerised voice managed to sound sympathetic.
"So... I guess our help was nothing at all," Kenny whispered. "We were assuming they would make it through this last scenario, and make it to Mr Dickenson's original training place, which would be a deserted house in the middle of nowhere... but we knew where it was located. I suppose we better contact Mr D to tell him to retreat the troops waiting for their arrival," Kenny whispered hoarsely, choked from crying.
The psychopath had actually sent these pictures to Kenny's laptop... confirmation for Kenny that his friends were gone forever. It wasn't like losing a best friend... it was far worse. Kenny had lost his five best friends in the world, and now... he had nothing. Destroying his hope, Kenny was left to bleed all alone.
Kenny walked slowly towards the BBA building, tears rolling down his cheeks. He kept his head down, and wore a black hat and overcoat not to be noticed. He couldn't possibly tell anyone yet... he doubted he could bear to tell Mr Dickenson. Of course, he had to. His mind was racing at a billion miles an hour with thoughts of horror, tragedy, misery and everything else bad in the world.
When he reached the dreaded building, he slowly trudged up the stairs, wandering through the halls. He slowly wiped away his tears, and entered the office.
"Hello Kenny! I'm glad you've come. Your plan is in place, we've sent a rescue mission for when they arrive at the designated training station."
"You meant IF," Kenny choked. "And... it won't happen. Look at this," Kenny whispered hoarsely, and opened up the pictures of the Bladebreakers' lifeless carcasses. The old man's eyes widened with terror and disgust.
Tears glistened in his eyes. "I can't believe he would do such a thing... I know he wasn't in his right mind... but this? Oh... I'm so sorry. This is my fault," Mr Dickenson trailed off as the tears spoke for him. He took off his hat and they bowed their heads in the empty silence.
"I... suppose I better call off the rescue mission," Mr Dickenson said softly after a long vow of silence. He picked up the phone and dialled a number, but Kenny wasn't listening. He was still in deep meditation and grievance.
"Retreat. It's over," Mr Dickenson said bitterly into the phone, and hung up. He walked out of the door, and hoped sincerely not to be bothered by reporters and such. Kenny silently followed out of the office, allowing Mr Dickenson to lock up. Suddenly, Kenny turned and ran.
He had nowhere to run to, nowhere to go, but he ran anyway. His life was over... there was no point. Maybe he should commit suicide, and be with his friends. He was better off dead.
He finally found himself at the lookout, Kai's contemplation place. Or, what used to be. He stared longingly into the distance, and found it tempting and inviting. With one action, he would end this. "I'm so sorry I couldn't help you. But perhaps my reasons were vain... because I'm lost without you," he whispered.
^^^^^
[Flashback]
Max knew it had been coming, and had waited for it, almost longingly. "Come on, take my life," he challenged Death, whispering with a slight smile.
"Max!" A voice interrupted his dark thoughts. He could see a clear image of Rei, among the hazy and blurred darkness of his mind.
"Rei?" Max whispered, frowning. Rei was too real to be an illusion. This was reality. "What do you think you're doing?" he whispered, almost venomously.
"Max... I just wanted to help," Rei said, meaning every word.
"I don't think you can," Max confessed. "I don't think I can get out of this mess."
"Then let me help," Rei whispered, and suddenly the darkness seemed to lift. His cold, sad feelings seemed to leave, and warmth spread in his heart. Rei indeed had lifted his spirits, and gave him the friendship and encouragement to carry on.
He opened his mouth to talk to his friend, but Rei had left. "Thank you, Rei," he said mentally. "But I don't know if I can go back..."
He sat in silence, alone, contemplating. He still wasn't sure if he could face reality... and what was the point? They were going to die anyway. If only they had left him behind, it would have been so much easier. They might have made it out if it weren't for him.
[Present]
His mind was suddenly overwhelmed by a bright, purple glow. The brilliant light comforted him as thoughts entered his mind that were not his own.
Was this really how he would go? Should he not have at least tried to help out, instead of burden them with his weight? Would he let them down now? Could he even do anything? Yes... he could.
Bright blue eyes suddenly opened, long after the others had closed. He was finally 'alive' again. "Draciel!" he mouthed, although he had no air in his lungs.
A strange sensation in the form of a glowing purple blur took on a non- distinctive form that was Draciel. Bright, purple light shone through the murky waters slightly tinted with blood. The light seemed to expand and get brighter and brighter, until a blinding light seemed to explode and fill the entire area.
When the light faded into an ember of a glow in Max's bit, there wasn't a trace of the maze left. The cement walls were gone, the water was gone, and Max's depression had vanished.
^^^^^
Max slowly opened his eyes after being knocked out by the explosion of light. He coughed up a ton of water, the saltiness felt sickening. He felt dazed and uncoordinated after being unconscious for so long. He stumbled to get up, feeling a little nauseous. He smiled despite himself; it hadn't been a dream. He had actually saved them... 'Thanks, Draciel,' he said mentally.
Bewildered blue eyes stared at what lay in front of him... a small little house in the middle of nowhere. "No way," he whispered in awe. He rubbed his eyes, out of habit more than anything. "Huh?"
He snapped his head up to see something in the distance. A helicopter, it seemed, but was too far to tell and was progressively getting further and further. "Darn it!" he yelled as the helicopter vanished from view. He sighed, and glanced at his friends. He gasped.
Luckily for him, they had all started to choke and cough up the saltwater that filled their lungs. They were still alive, although barely. After they had got the dreadful water out of their system they took deep, shaky breaths of air, still coughing and choking, and fell unconscious once more.
Max, shaken but relieved, decided to look around. Walking in the house, he discovered it was similar to Tyson's dojo. It wasn't exactly modern, but clean and pretty, equipped with essential needs. It was perfect, in his opinion.
"So what's the catch," Max asked suspiciously, waiting for some sort of answer from the (literally) mad scientist. He looked around - there was no speaker, camera, anything remotely suspicious.
There didn't appear to be any sort of technology whatsoever. However, it was really nice. The house seemed extremely new. Max figured it had been specially made for their 'training'. It was small yet spacious, since there was barely any furniture. The furniture was simple and somewhat modern.
There were a TON of novels, papers and textbooks. "I wonder what this is all about," he said softly, before noticing a letter on the table.
He opened it up and began to read. "Dear Bladebreakers, welcome to your next challenge. I trust the maze allowed you to have some time to bond further -"Max's eyes narrowed. 'Yeah right, sick joke there,' he said mentally.
"Now you will be stranded here for a month-"'A month?!' Max gasped, but continued reading. "During this month you will study intensely and catch up on your schoolwork, as well as bond and have fun together. Your teacher had previously requested of me to catch you children up on your grades that were falling due to your beyblading - we couldn't have that, so I'm afraid this session is necessary. Fortunately, there are productive ways of having fun that will build character. Have fun, signed Mr Dickenson. PS Kenny and Hilary - your grades are still wonderful. Your job here is to teach them."
"You have GOT to be kidding," Max said aloud. "Kenny? Kenny got to go home... oh, the date! I dunno the date, but I do know this letter is dated to maybe a month or so ago. Strange... and it's from Mr Dickenson. This seems so... trivial compared to that evil scientist's things. I mean, failing grades? That's nothing compared to, you know, death, pain and torture... I wonder why all of a sudden it's Mr Dickenson's tame program instead of the doctor's evil, corrupted morbid plans? Maybe... Kenny!"
Max smiled. He knew Kenny was probably behind this. But, then, why hadn't they just sent someone to come and save them? Surely Mr Dickenson knew the co-ordinates of this house. Maybe they just didn't think that far ahead. Or... maybe they did, after all Max had seen the helicopter. Maybe they had given up on them? Regardless, Max was grateful.
He went outside again. He had to explain everything to someone. "Kai?" he asked slowly, shaking him lightly. Grey eyes struggled to open, but did so abruptly. He started to cough violently, making Max nervous.
He groaned wearily, exhausted. "You did it, Max," he managed to smile. Max grinned back. "So, what's happening now?"
Max started to talk faster than Kai believed possible, in a whirlwind of events, emotions and happiness. Kai nodded after Max had finished, absorbing everything that had just happened compressed into a couple minutes. Max took a few deep breaths after talking seemingly without breaks for a few minutes. 'Looks like Max is back,' Kai thought to himself with a smile.
Kai walked into the house, mildly impressed. He walked into the bedroom that contained 6 individual beds all placed together in a row. He flopped exhausted onto the soft, comfortable bed and seemed to sink into it like it was a giant pillow, and his fears seemed to sink as well. He buried himself in the soft, warm blanket. He fell asleep instantly, and when Max walked in to find him a minute later he was in a deep, peaceful, well-deserved sleep.
Max smiled, and walked outside to wake another of his friends. However, he was having trouble. Tyson, undoubtedly, wouldn't wake up, even after Max yelled "breakfast!" in his ear. Hilary wouldn't wake either. She seemed under-the-weather. He gave up and tried to wake Rei, and only then discovered how frozen he was.
"Rei!!" The teen was still deathly pale, and when Max put a hand to his face he yelped with shock. His hair still had ice shards in it. Max suddenly felt guilt sink in - this was his fault. Rei opened his eyes slowly as if in response to his last thoughts. "I'm sorry... you shouldn't have done it!" Max yelled.
"No, Max," Rei whispered, then sat up and tried to find his voice. "I wanted to... it was my choice. I'm so glad you managed to pull through for us. I always believed you could do it, even when the others lost hope," he smiled. He tried to suppress a shiver, but didn't succeed.
Max briefly told Rei of their situation, not wanting to go into too much detail. Rei nodded, still shivering slightly even though it was warm out. The weather was fairy-tale-like: pleasantly warm, almost hot, but not boiling.
He slowly got to his feet, still sluggish and uncoordinated. He tried to shake off the lethargic feeling but it wouldn't leave him, so he instead decided to go to bed. He felt like a reptile - slowed from the cold. He shivered again and started to walk inside, thinking of nice, warm blankets, and DRY clothes. Despite the frigid feeling, he felt chillingly hot at the same time. 'Great,' he thought to himself, realising the symptoms of sickness.
He walked into the bedroom, and smiled to himself as he saw Kai fast asleep. 'He deserves it,' he thought. He opened the closet doors, quietly so he wouldn't wake Kai. Not that he would likely wake, since he was so tired, but Kai DID wake easily.
He tiredly grabbed one of the outfits set for him. It was in the same style as his current neo-traditional Chinese outfit, but Rei didn't pay too much attention to it through his increasingly blurred and fatigued state.
He went into one of the two bathrooms and stripped off his wet, heavy clothes. It felt so much better. He put on the new, fresh clothes and crawled into the nearest bed. He was still shivering violently, so he grabbed all the blankets and sheets off all of the beds (except for the one Kai was using) and smothered himself in their soft, warm goodness.
^^^^^
"Kenny?" a voice questioned, seeing the boy sobbing uncontrollably under the bridge. "What happened?" he demanded.
Kenny choked on his tears. "Tyson... the others... they're--"he started bawling again. He didn't have to finish that sentence for Ozuma.
"How can you be sure," Ozuma asked, although his tone was shocked and grieving. Kenny, as an answer, pulled out his laptop and showed him THE pictures. Ozuma's piercing green eyes widened and he faltered. "What kind of cruel joke..."
"This is no joke, Ozuma," Kenny said bitterly. "This is for REAL. They are dead. We have to face it," he spat angrily. "But I just can't bring myself to..." he whispered softly, tears coming again.
Kenny felt a hand on his shoulder, consoling him. "We grieve for them, my friend. But don't be sad... they wouldn't have wanted that," he said, trying to blink back the tears in his own eyes.
"I can't live with this," Kenny whispered. "You know, just now I was thinking of suicide... I don't know why I'm telling you this. But please, leave me alone and let me die."
Ozuma looked appalled. "Yeah right, Kenny. Don't you DARE... they would never forgive you. Suicide is the coward's way out, you know. You should be strong for them... like they were."
"I don't deserve to live," Kenny whispered. "I am weak. I couldn't help them, and never did. I was just their shadow. But no longer... when they are gone, their shadow will also fade."
Ozuma looked scared at the desolate response. "Don't be stupid. You did more than help them. You were a part of the team, and still are."
"I couldn't do anything to save them. I tried my hardest, but failed," Kenny still mumbled as if in a trance.
"I didn't either, so do you think I 'deserve' to die, now?" Ozuma was getting frustrated now.
"It's not the same... you couldn't have done anything-"
"And neither could you," Ozuma snapped. "Now you get some needed rest. I will inform the other Saint-Shields of this tragedy."
Kenny began to protest. "But-"
"GO!" Ozuma yelled, and Kenny quickly wandered off. Ozuma's intense green eyes watched Kenny, and then let his unshed tears fall.
^^^^^
Max had managed to carry Hilary and then Tyson to their beds. He noticed Rei had taken all six blankets for himself. "Um... Rei, are you okay?" he asked, worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm f-fine," Rei said meekly. Of course, that's what he was expected to say. Max knew better.
"I hope you feel better," Max said gently, and Rei nodded slightly. Max started to walk out the door and leave his sleeping friends.
"Uh... sorry for taking all the blankets," Rei grinned sheepishly. "I'm still freezing..."
"Well, to be quite honest, I don't think they care right now," Max smiled, gesturing towards his deeply sleeping friends. "Rest up, Rei."
"Will do," Rei said, teeth chattering slightly. He snuggled up in all six blankets, indulging in his mound of fuzzy warm goodness.
Max walked out of the room, leaving his friends to rest. He was suddenly aware of the pang in his stomach that was hunger. "That's right, we haven't eaten for the longest time," he said to himself.
He walked into the kitchen area. It was nice and simple, yet had good quality appliances. There was a gigantic fridge. He looked in the fridge and found an abundance of food! The food in the fridge alone would last well over the month. He smiled, and pulled out carrots, celery and an onion. From the well-stocked cupboards he found noodles and chicken stock.
He found a gigantic pot, and filled it with water. He lugged it over to the stove, with some difficulty since it was so heavy, then turned the stove on. He added the chicken stock, marvelling at how so little was required.
"I wonder what I do now," he thought to himself. "I know this is what I need for chicken soup... oh, right! I have to cut these up," he remembered, and grabbed a knife from the drawer. He began to chop the celery, carefully so he wouldn't cut himself. "Eeps," he said as the knife almost slipped and cut his finger. "I've gotta be more careful."
So he continued to cut the celery, extremely slowly, then proceeded to do the onions and carrots. It took him nearly half an hour to do just that. He turned around to put the carefully chopped vegetables in the pot, when... "AAAH!!" Max yelled, as he saw the pot was bubbling over onto the floor!
He dropped the vegetables, spilling many on the floor, and looked for a mop, or something to clean up with, not even thinking to turn the stove off.
"Max?" Hilary mumbled. His cry had woken her up. Max hid behind a couch, not wanting to face the wrath of Hilary. She groggily stumbled to the kitchen. What she saw definitely startled her, waking her fully.
"MAX! What happened here?!" She yelled, pointing at the giant mess of boiling soup bubbling onto the floor and vegetables scattered all over the floor and counter. She was sick, but hadn't lost her voice. She noticed a knife teetering on the edge of the counter, along with water sprayed all over the walls and countertop.
Rei tossed aside his gigantic mass of blankets and walked into the kitchen because of the commotion. "What happened?" he mumbled, still lethargic.
"Rei! You're okay!" Hilary smiled, hugging her friend. She flinched a little at how cold he still was.
"And you too, Hilary," He smiled. "Thanks to Max."
"Where IS Max, anyway?" she asked, slightly evilly. "He seems to have left a mess, and fled."
"Ugh. What did he DO?" he wondered, staring at the mayhem.
"I was trying to make chicken soup to make you guys feel better," a meek voice said from behind the couch.
Rei and Hilary sweat-dropped, looking at each other, not knowing what to say. It was most definitely a sweet, kind gesture. However, he had failed miserably and left an enormous mess.
"It's okay..." Rei groaned wearily. Hilary sighed. "Just, how about you don't try again any time soon, kay?" Max nodded, like a schoolchild being told off by a teacher. He skipped off happily, now that he hadn't been severely mutilated by Hilary, leaving the two alone in the kitchen.
As soon as he left, they both groaned. "I'll take care of the soup and knife if you get the vegetables and walls," Rei sighed. Hilary nodded, annoyed.
"Well, it was a nice idea," Hilary said, picking up the stupid little pieces of carrots, celery and onion.
"Yeah," Rei agreed, grabbing a mop and bucket after hastily turning off the stove. "Let's just hope he doesn't have any more nice ideas," he laughed.
They cleaned up quickly, leaving the kitchen spotless once again. "I'm going back to bed," Rei mumbled.
"Me too," Hilary yawned. The two walked back to the bedroom. "Do you really need ALL those blankets?" she questioned, seeing his gigantic mound of warm blankets and sheets.
"You bet," he grinned, and climbed under all five blankets. Hilary sighed.
"Whatever. I'll just have to take Kai's," she grinned. She climbed into her empty bed that happened to be beside him, and pried the blanket from his sleeping form. Rei stifled a laugh as he saw Kai shift in his sleep. Hilary jumped, for fear of being caught. Luckily, he was still fast asleep. Hilary gave a sigh of relief.
"Had you scared there," Rei mumbled. He was already falling asleep.
"Have a good sleep, Rei," she whispered softly, but he didn't reply as he was already in a deep slumber.
Max heard them go back to the bedroom. He grinned, and walked back into the kitchen. He walked to the cupboard and decided he would attempt to make some pasta.
"Hey, how about that? There are convenient instructions on how to make the pasta perfectly! And it also says how to make a great sauce! This is awesome!" Max smiled; he was ready to wow them with his pasta. "These look awfully small," he said to himself, so he grabbed five packages of pasta.
He got out a large pot, and filled it with some water. He chose a giant one so there was no way it would flow over. This time he turned the tap on slowly and carefully, so it wouldn't ricochet and hit the walls like last time. He put the pot on the stove and turned it on high. Then he dragged a chair to the stove and watched it boil.
While he was watching the stove, he read the package several times over. "Yeah, I bet I can do this!" he said to himself. "Put pasta in water when it reaches boiling. Hey, look at that! It's starting to boil!"
He watched it intently until the water reached boiling. He then carefully poured the pasta in. "Okay, now I have to wait until it's done. In the meantime, I'll prepare the sauce."
He followed the instructions ever so carefully, and was thoroughly pleased with himself. He had managed to strain the pasta without spilling or burning himself, made the sauce with ease, and the pasta was at the perfect tenderness.
He set the table for five, and placed the giant pot on the table with some difficulty. "Wow, it really grew," he said to himself. "Good thing I chose a gigantic pot! Rei! Hilary! Kai! Tyson! I made pasta! It's time for dinner!" He yelled as he ran into their room. He could smell the delicious aroma from the bedroom.
The four stirred, and eventually got out of bed. They walked out of the bedroom single file, all tired and exhausted. Max looked delighted with himself, and bounced out of the room to unveil his gourmet masterpiece.
"Food!" Tyson grinned. He was awake now. He stared at the ENORMOUS pot of pasta.
"Hey, I thought you weren't supposed to be cooking?" Hilary scolded. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Chill, Hilary. Even Max can make Kraft Dinner."
^^^^^
"Hey, Ozuma! What's wrong?" Mariam asked, seeing her usually stoic leader looking so shaken and sad.
"Mariam... it's the Bladebreakers," he said, his voice sad and distant.
Mariam gasped. "What happened? Is Max okay? Are the others safe?"
"No," he said so softly that Mariam could barely hear him. "Kenny got an email confirming that they... are dead, Mariam." He concluded in a voice less than a whisper.
"What? That can't be true!" Mariam's face looked fallen. "How can you be so sure, Ozuma," she demanded, suddenly angry. "The email could have been false!"
He shook his head solemnly. "There was a picture attached... they had drowned in a maze filled with water. I saw the picture with my own eyes," he said remorsefully.
Mariam's face paled. "No..." she whispered. "Max!"
"We must inform the others," Ozuma said, hiding his grief once again. He turned and walked away, giving the distressed girl some time alone.
"Max... I'm sorry," Mariam said to the sky. "You were my friend, and always will be. I'll never forget you." Tears rolled down her pale cheeks, as she cried all alone.
^^^^^
"Ugh, stop it you two. Max, how much Kraft Dinner did you make?!" Rei wondered. He had eaten two bowls already. Hilary and Kai had each managed two as well, and Max and Tyson seemed to be competing. Max had conquered five, Tyson had already had six, and neither seemed to be wearing. There was still a large quantity of the neon orange substance left in the giant pot.
"Um, five boxes," Max said through mouthfuls of macaroni. Rei grimaced. Hilary had a look of pure disgust on her face - bits of Tyson and Max's macaroni were in her hair, as she was sitting between the two. Some more had just sprayed from his mouth to her hair. Kai watched amusedly as the almost glowing pasta accumulated in her hair.
At last she couldn't stand it. "I'm going back to bed. But FIRST I'm taking a shower!" she yelled. "Max and Tyson, you clean up this mess. Immediately after, everyone should get some sleep. Got it?"
"Yes, queen Hilary," Tyson and Max said sarcastically, simultaneously spraying her further with the disgusting pasta.
She screamed, whacked them both on the head, and ran to the bedroom for cover. Rei and Kai headed back to the bedroom as well, avoiding flying macaroni from the ongoing contest.
"Hey Rei," Hilary asked. "Did you get the new clothes from the closet and drawers?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah I guess I did," he said, sleepily crawling back into bed.
"You know, that green really looks good on you, Rei," Hilary commented as she searched through the drawers.
"Thanks," he mumbled. He hadn't even noticed he was wearing green.
"Oh!" Hilary's face lit up as she found the outfits for her. She grabbed one and walked into the bathroom.
When Tyson and Max had finally finished eating (Tyson had won the contest by eating directly out of the pot) and cleaning up, they walked into the bedroom to see Rei, Hilary and Kai all in bed, asleep. Rei was hidden under a pile of all six blankets (he had reclaimed Kai's original blanket).
"D'you think Rei would mind if we took two of his blankets?" Tyson asked. He reached over to take two when he heard a muffled "mmph" from under the mound. "Oh, sorry about that buddy. Guess we don't get blankets tonight," he shrugged. Rei smiled slightly and nodded in agreement. Tyson and Max shot him an annoyed glare.
"You're STILL cold?" Max asked. Rei held out his hand in response. When Max walked over, Rei grabbed his arm. Max let out a cry at the sudden coldness. "It's still like ice!" Max exclaimed.
"I know," Rei frowned. "But I'm sure it'll be better in the morning," he reassured his friend, not wanting to plague him with guilt.
"Okay. Goodnight," he smiled, and fell asleep. This time, his dreams were pleasant and peaceful. Instead of sinking in his nightmares, he was floating in dreamy clouds.
^^^^^
Tyson woke up early the next morning to the sound of a... school bell? "Ugh, make it stop," he moaned.
"Get up, Tyson! It's time for your lesson!" Hilary said, still ringing the school bell.
Tyson sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes. He saw in front of him Hilary yelling at them to get up, Max who was covering his ears, and Kai who looked still half-asleep and very annoyed.
"Get up!" she yelled again, causing Tyson to hustle out of bed. "That's better. Rei!" she said, shaking what she figured was Rei buried under all six blankets.
"Mmph," his cry was muffled under the mass of covers.
"Rei, are you well enough to do your lesson?" Hilary asked the blankets. Rei emerged from under the blankets enough for his face to show. He held out his hand and touched it to Hilary's face. She shrieked with surprise.
"How can your hands still be so cold?" Hilary wondered. Rei shrugged slightly. Max frowned. Now Hilary and Rei exchanged motions; Hilary put her hand on Rei's face. She found he was cold and clammy. His face was extremely pale, as well.
"I guess not, then," she said, sadly. "I hope you feel better."
"Hey, wait!" he said as they were walking out the door. "Just give me some of the work, and I'll try my best to do it."
"Are you sure, Rei?" Hilary asked, although seemed pleased.
"Yeah, man. I wouldn't want to do it if I could get out of it," Tyson admitted.
"I'm positive," he smiled. "Thanks." Hilary quickly left and came back with a pile of textbooks, binders, notebooks and a pencil case.
"Here you go," she said, dropping them on the bed beside him. "Do what you can. We'll be in the classroom if you need us."
They walked out the door, leaving Rei alone in the bedroom. He sighed. He saw the outline Hilary had left... 50 algebra problems, a novel he had to read along with a book report he had to complete on it, a 1300 word history report, 3 geography maps to complete, and a chapter out of the science textbook.
He sighed and picked up a pencil. He was sure that at least ten of the brand new pencils would be so small he wouldn't be able to write with them after he got through all of this.
^^^^^
"Alright, it's time for math," Hilary said cheerily. Tyson groaned, Max shrugged and Kai just stared ahead tiredly.
Hilary was still amazed at the mini-classroom. It had big chalkboards all around, four desks and two teacher's desks. There were neat stacks and shelves full of books and textbooks. There was a big supply closet, and pencil cases and workbooks lay on the desks in front of the Bladebreakers. In fact, their pencil cases even matched them: Tyson's turquoise, Max's purplish, Rei's yellow and Kai's red.
She wrote the work they had to do on the board in neat printing. "1-50" it read. Now they all looked peeved.
"Now I guess I'll just let you guys work, and you ask me when you need help or need me to explain something," she said brightly. "And when you finish, you can give it to me to mark and start reading your novel."
"Yeah right, like we're ever gonna finish," Tyson muttered under his breath.
Max immediately shot up his hand. "Hilary! Can you explain question 1?"
"Um... sure, Max," she said, and started writing on the board. "So it's find the value of x. So in question one, 2x=20, to get x we have to divide both sides by 2."
"Okay," Max nodded. "Then what?"
"Well as you can see, we have x=10 already. That's all there is to it," she smiled.
"Oookay," Max said slowly. "I think I get this!"
"Good," she sighed. She watched them write and furiously rub out their answers. She noticed an irritated look on Tyson's face. "Need help, Tyson?"
"No," he said adamantly.
'Yeah right, Tyson,' she thought to herself. "Okay then... let's just do it together. Even if you don't need help maybe someone else will." She knew this wasn't true - Max wasn't even on that question yet and she saw that Kai was already on the next page.
"Yeah, okay. So for question eight..."
^^^^^
"B-O-R-E-D," Rei wrote on his paper then lazily erased it. He wanted to talk to someone - he felt lonely. He totally understood algebra.
"Question 43," he read aloud. If he couldn't talk to anyone else he would just have to settle for his own voice as company. "If Maxine has five times as much candy as Tyler, and together they have thirty bags, how many bags of candy does Tyler have... well I'd say Tys- I mean Tyler would have 15 in total after stealing from Maxine, since that would only be fair." Rei sighed, before writing down "Tyler would have 5 bags of candy."
He trudged on through the tedious homework, quickly and efficiently. The novel he was required to read was exceptionally boring, and he fell asleep partway through.
"You can't hide from me forever," a chilling voice entered his sleep. "I will find you," it whispered, causing Rei to shiver with fear.
"What happened?" Rei demanded after finding his voice.
"I'll tell you what happened," the voice came that was of the scientist. Rei instinctively knew that he went by 'Dr D', as it came into his mind. His voice seemed cruelly pleasured by their pain.
"Rei, it seems your so-called friend has attempted your rescue," Dr D's gloating voice came.
"You mean Kenny?" Rei asked, hopefully.
"Yes, him, the poor pathetic fool. He actually succeeded in hacking into our systems," he said, angrily. Rei managed to smile. "But you know I will find you. It's just a matter of time. You can't escape, Rei Kon."
Rei just glared ahead, as the voice didn't seem to have a body. "In the meantime, I sent your friend a message..." Rei frowned. What could he have sent? An image of them lying lifeless flashed in his mind.
He gasped. "That's just wrong! You told him we were dead? That's so cruel!"
"Au contraire, Rei. I told him nothing of the sort. You know a picture is worth a thousand words... and your own picture has left a scalding impression on your former friend. And right now..."
Kenny's image appeared in his head. A dangerously depressed Kenny, with tears rolling down his cheeks. He appeared to be contemplating suicide. Rei gasped. "You sick..."
"Oh, there's more," he gloated evilly. It seemed that so many already knew about their supposed 'death'.
Pictures of weeping, downhearted friends flashed one by one in his mind. He tried to shut out the horrid images but they just kept coming.
Mr Dickenson... "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault," his distant voice wept. Tyson's grandpa was suddenly so sombre and lifeless. The Saint-Shields, seemingly stoic bladers, were all teary-eyed. Zeo, his artificial tears flowed freely down his face. Judy looked a complete wreck - her normally calm composure had been destroyed. The All-Starz were shaken and some were crying.
But Rei's heart nearly stopped when he saw... Mariah.
^^^^^
End of Chappie!
Well, I must say that was a slightly different chapter. It was long! Please review! You don't know how much reviews help. Well, actually you probably do if you write your own fics! So, spread that warm fuzzy feeling and click that review button. Thanks so much!
^_^ Penguin Pop
Yes, Kenny is the comic relief. I mean, a high-strung, freakish nerd with no eyes? Yes, he doesn't try to be funny but he is, in that sad way. Laughing at, not with, you know? Sadly, it's the way it works.
I've come to realise that, this being my first fic and all, my writing has improved a lot from when I first started! Wouldn't you agree? I think that partially comes with the support and help from all my reviewers. So I'd like to again thank everyone that has reviewed!
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade, obviously.
^^^^^
Twisted Fate
Chapter 15: False Impressions
The water was rising rapidly, at an exponential rate. It was already at their mouths, and unfortunately for them none of them were in any condition to swim.
They had stopped walking, and now were trying to keep Hilary, Max and Rei within reach of air. It was difficult, when you yourself are hanging onto consciousness by a thread of hope that's been frayed and tattered. And now, it was gone. "Hilary..." Tyson said softly, holding her close.
"Hilary... I'll miss you..." Tyson said quietly, just before the water cut him off.
"And I'll miss you too, Tyson," Hilary murmured, and with that, they collapsed and fell beneath the beckoning darkness of the water.
Cool grey eyes watched, seemingly apathetic but hid many thoughts and feelings. He took a last breath, and let the pain wash over him, his body sinking and unaware. He had fallen alone.
^^^^^
"Chief!" Dizzi cried frantically. "You should... see this..." her digital voice trailed off. She opened an email from "Dr D", and found highly disturbing pictures inside. Not disturbing as in pornography... this was much, much worse.
Kenny leant over and pushed his glasses up. The colour drained from his face as he saw the screen. The limp bodies of the Bladebreakers lay lifelessly under the deathly water. "Oh, god, no..." he whispered, tears leaking down his face. "This... is my fault."
"Chief, it was most definitely not your fault," Dizzi said sternly. "They did firewall it, not allowing us any further access. You couldn't have done anything." Somehow, even her computerised voice managed to sound sympathetic.
"So... I guess our help was nothing at all," Kenny whispered. "We were assuming they would make it through this last scenario, and make it to Mr Dickenson's original training place, which would be a deserted house in the middle of nowhere... but we knew where it was located. I suppose we better contact Mr D to tell him to retreat the troops waiting for their arrival," Kenny whispered hoarsely, choked from crying.
The psychopath had actually sent these pictures to Kenny's laptop... confirmation for Kenny that his friends were gone forever. It wasn't like losing a best friend... it was far worse. Kenny had lost his five best friends in the world, and now... he had nothing. Destroying his hope, Kenny was left to bleed all alone.
Kenny walked slowly towards the BBA building, tears rolling down his cheeks. He kept his head down, and wore a black hat and overcoat not to be noticed. He couldn't possibly tell anyone yet... he doubted he could bear to tell Mr Dickenson. Of course, he had to. His mind was racing at a billion miles an hour with thoughts of horror, tragedy, misery and everything else bad in the world.
When he reached the dreaded building, he slowly trudged up the stairs, wandering through the halls. He slowly wiped away his tears, and entered the office.
"Hello Kenny! I'm glad you've come. Your plan is in place, we've sent a rescue mission for when they arrive at the designated training station."
"You meant IF," Kenny choked. "And... it won't happen. Look at this," Kenny whispered hoarsely, and opened up the pictures of the Bladebreakers' lifeless carcasses. The old man's eyes widened with terror and disgust.
Tears glistened in his eyes. "I can't believe he would do such a thing... I know he wasn't in his right mind... but this? Oh... I'm so sorry. This is my fault," Mr Dickenson trailed off as the tears spoke for him. He took off his hat and they bowed their heads in the empty silence.
"I... suppose I better call off the rescue mission," Mr Dickenson said softly after a long vow of silence. He picked up the phone and dialled a number, but Kenny wasn't listening. He was still in deep meditation and grievance.
"Retreat. It's over," Mr Dickenson said bitterly into the phone, and hung up. He walked out of the door, and hoped sincerely not to be bothered by reporters and such. Kenny silently followed out of the office, allowing Mr Dickenson to lock up. Suddenly, Kenny turned and ran.
He had nowhere to run to, nowhere to go, but he ran anyway. His life was over... there was no point. Maybe he should commit suicide, and be with his friends. He was better off dead.
He finally found himself at the lookout, Kai's contemplation place. Or, what used to be. He stared longingly into the distance, and found it tempting and inviting. With one action, he would end this. "I'm so sorry I couldn't help you. But perhaps my reasons were vain... because I'm lost without you," he whispered.
^^^^^
[Flashback]
Max knew it had been coming, and had waited for it, almost longingly. "Come on, take my life," he challenged Death, whispering with a slight smile.
"Max!" A voice interrupted his dark thoughts. He could see a clear image of Rei, among the hazy and blurred darkness of his mind.
"Rei?" Max whispered, frowning. Rei was too real to be an illusion. This was reality. "What do you think you're doing?" he whispered, almost venomously.
"Max... I just wanted to help," Rei said, meaning every word.
"I don't think you can," Max confessed. "I don't think I can get out of this mess."
"Then let me help," Rei whispered, and suddenly the darkness seemed to lift. His cold, sad feelings seemed to leave, and warmth spread in his heart. Rei indeed had lifted his spirits, and gave him the friendship and encouragement to carry on.
He opened his mouth to talk to his friend, but Rei had left. "Thank you, Rei," he said mentally. "But I don't know if I can go back..."
He sat in silence, alone, contemplating. He still wasn't sure if he could face reality... and what was the point? They were going to die anyway. If only they had left him behind, it would have been so much easier. They might have made it out if it weren't for him.
[Present]
His mind was suddenly overwhelmed by a bright, purple glow. The brilliant light comforted him as thoughts entered his mind that were not his own.
Was this really how he would go? Should he not have at least tried to help out, instead of burden them with his weight? Would he let them down now? Could he even do anything? Yes... he could.
Bright blue eyes suddenly opened, long after the others had closed. He was finally 'alive' again. "Draciel!" he mouthed, although he had no air in his lungs.
A strange sensation in the form of a glowing purple blur took on a non- distinctive form that was Draciel. Bright, purple light shone through the murky waters slightly tinted with blood. The light seemed to expand and get brighter and brighter, until a blinding light seemed to explode and fill the entire area.
When the light faded into an ember of a glow in Max's bit, there wasn't a trace of the maze left. The cement walls were gone, the water was gone, and Max's depression had vanished.
^^^^^
Max slowly opened his eyes after being knocked out by the explosion of light. He coughed up a ton of water, the saltiness felt sickening. He felt dazed and uncoordinated after being unconscious for so long. He stumbled to get up, feeling a little nauseous. He smiled despite himself; it hadn't been a dream. He had actually saved them... 'Thanks, Draciel,' he said mentally.
Bewildered blue eyes stared at what lay in front of him... a small little house in the middle of nowhere. "No way," he whispered in awe. He rubbed his eyes, out of habit more than anything. "Huh?"
He snapped his head up to see something in the distance. A helicopter, it seemed, but was too far to tell and was progressively getting further and further. "Darn it!" he yelled as the helicopter vanished from view. He sighed, and glanced at his friends. He gasped.
Luckily for him, they had all started to choke and cough up the saltwater that filled their lungs. They were still alive, although barely. After they had got the dreadful water out of their system they took deep, shaky breaths of air, still coughing and choking, and fell unconscious once more.
Max, shaken but relieved, decided to look around. Walking in the house, he discovered it was similar to Tyson's dojo. It wasn't exactly modern, but clean and pretty, equipped with essential needs. It was perfect, in his opinion.
"So what's the catch," Max asked suspiciously, waiting for some sort of answer from the (literally) mad scientist. He looked around - there was no speaker, camera, anything remotely suspicious.
There didn't appear to be any sort of technology whatsoever. However, it was really nice. The house seemed extremely new. Max figured it had been specially made for their 'training'. It was small yet spacious, since there was barely any furniture. The furniture was simple and somewhat modern.
There were a TON of novels, papers and textbooks. "I wonder what this is all about," he said softly, before noticing a letter on the table.
He opened it up and began to read. "Dear Bladebreakers, welcome to your next challenge. I trust the maze allowed you to have some time to bond further -"Max's eyes narrowed. 'Yeah right, sick joke there,' he said mentally.
"Now you will be stranded here for a month-"'A month?!' Max gasped, but continued reading. "During this month you will study intensely and catch up on your schoolwork, as well as bond and have fun together. Your teacher had previously requested of me to catch you children up on your grades that were falling due to your beyblading - we couldn't have that, so I'm afraid this session is necessary. Fortunately, there are productive ways of having fun that will build character. Have fun, signed Mr Dickenson. PS Kenny and Hilary - your grades are still wonderful. Your job here is to teach them."
"You have GOT to be kidding," Max said aloud. "Kenny? Kenny got to go home... oh, the date! I dunno the date, but I do know this letter is dated to maybe a month or so ago. Strange... and it's from Mr Dickenson. This seems so... trivial compared to that evil scientist's things. I mean, failing grades? That's nothing compared to, you know, death, pain and torture... I wonder why all of a sudden it's Mr Dickenson's tame program instead of the doctor's evil, corrupted morbid plans? Maybe... Kenny!"
Max smiled. He knew Kenny was probably behind this. But, then, why hadn't they just sent someone to come and save them? Surely Mr Dickenson knew the co-ordinates of this house. Maybe they just didn't think that far ahead. Or... maybe they did, after all Max had seen the helicopter. Maybe they had given up on them? Regardless, Max was grateful.
He went outside again. He had to explain everything to someone. "Kai?" he asked slowly, shaking him lightly. Grey eyes struggled to open, but did so abruptly. He started to cough violently, making Max nervous.
He groaned wearily, exhausted. "You did it, Max," he managed to smile. Max grinned back. "So, what's happening now?"
Max started to talk faster than Kai believed possible, in a whirlwind of events, emotions and happiness. Kai nodded after Max had finished, absorbing everything that had just happened compressed into a couple minutes. Max took a few deep breaths after talking seemingly without breaks for a few minutes. 'Looks like Max is back,' Kai thought to himself with a smile.
Kai walked into the house, mildly impressed. He walked into the bedroom that contained 6 individual beds all placed together in a row. He flopped exhausted onto the soft, comfortable bed and seemed to sink into it like it was a giant pillow, and his fears seemed to sink as well. He buried himself in the soft, warm blanket. He fell asleep instantly, and when Max walked in to find him a minute later he was in a deep, peaceful, well-deserved sleep.
Max smiled, and walked outside to wake another of his friends. However, he was having trouble. Tyson, undoubtedly, wouldn't wake up, even after Max yelled "breakfast!" in his ear. Hilary wouldn't wake either. She seemed under-the-weather. He gave up and tried to wake Rei, and only then discovered how frozen he was.
"Rei!!" The teen was still deathly pale, and when Max put a hand to his face he yelped with shock. His hair still had ice shards in it. Max suddenly felt guilt sink in - this was his fault. Rei opened his eyes slowly as if in response to his last thoughts. "I'm sorry... you shouldn't have done it!" Max yelled.
"No, Max," Rei whispered, then sat up and tried to find his voice. "I wanted to... it was my choice. I'm so glad you managed to pull through for us. I always believed you could do it, even when the others lost hope," he smiled. He tried to suppress a shiver, but didn't succeed.
Max briefly told Rei of their situation, not wanting to go into too much detail. Rei nodded, still shivering slightly even though it was warm out. The weather was fairy-tale-like: pleasantly warm, almost hot, but not boiling.
He slowly got to his feet, still sluggish and uncoordinated. He tried to shake off the lethargic feeling but it wouldn't leave him, so he instead decided to go to bed. He felt like a reptile - slowed from the cold. He shivered again and started to walk inside, thinking of nice, warm blankets, and DRY clothes. Despite the frigid feeling, he felt chillingly hot at the same time. 'Great,' he thought to himself, realising the symptoms of sickness.
He walked into the bedroom, and smiled to himself as he saw Kai fast asleep. 'He deserves it,' he thought. He opened the closet doors, quietly so he wouldn't wake Kai. Not that he would likely wake, since he was so tired, but Kai DID wake easily.
He tiredly grabbed one of the outfits set for him. It was in the same style as his current neo-traditional Chinese outfit, but Rei didn't pay too much attention to it through his increasingly blurred and fatigued state.
He went into one of the two bathrooms and stripped off his wet, heavy clothes. It felt so much better. He put on the new, fresh clothes and crawled into the nearest bed. He was still shivering violently, so he grabbed all the blankets and sheets off all of the beds (except for the one Kai was using) and smothered himself in their soft, warm goodness.
^^^^^
"Kenny?" a voice questioned, seeing the boy sobbing uncontrollably under the bridge. "What happened?" he demanded.
Kenny choked on his tears. "Tyson... the others... they're--"he started bawling again. He didn't have to finish that sentence for Ozuma.
"How can you be sure," Ozuma asked, although his tone was shocked and grieving. Kenny, as an answer, pulled out his laptop and showed him THE pictures. Ozuma's piercing green eyes widened and he faltered. "What kind of cruel joke..."
"This is no joke, Ozuma," Kenny said bitterly. "This is for REAL. They are dead. We have to face it," he spat angrily. "But I just can't bring myself to..." he whispered softly, tears coming again.
Kenny felt a hand on his shoulder, consoling him. "We grieve for them, my friend. But don't be sad... they wouldn't have wanted that," he said, trying to blink back the tears in his own eyes.
"I can't live with this," Kenny whispered. "You know, just now I was thinking of suicide... I don't know why I'm telling you this. But please, leave me alone and let me die."
Ozuma looked appalled. "Yeah right, Kenny. Don't you DARE... they would never forgive you. Suicide is the coward's way out, you know. You should be strong for them... like they were."
"I don't deserve to live," Kenny whispered. "I am weak. I couldn't help them, and never did. I was just their shadow. But no longer... when they are gone, their shadow will also fade."
Ozuma looked scared at the desolate response. "Don't be stupid. You did more than help them. You were a part of the team, and still are."
"I couldn't do anything to save them. I tried my hardest, but failed," Kenny still mumbled as if in a trance.
"I didn't either, so do you think I 'deserve' to die, now?" Ozuma was getting frustrated now.
"It's not the same... you couldn't have done anything-"
"And neither could you," Ozuma snapped. "Now you get some needed rest. I will inform the other Saint-Shields of this tragedy."
Kenny began to protest. "But-"
"GO!" Ozuma yelled, and Kenny quickly wandered off. Ozuma's intense green eyes watched Kenny, and then let his unshed tears fall.
^^^^^
Max had managed to carry Hilary and then Tyson to their beds. He noticed Rei had taken all six blankets for himself. "Um... Rei, are you okay?" he asked, worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm f-fine," Rei said meekly. Of course, that's what he was expected to say. Max knew better.
"I hope you feel better," Max said gently, and Rei nodded slightly. Max started to walk out the door and leave his sleeping friends.
"Uh... sorry for taking all the blankets," Rei grinned sheepishly. "I'm still freezing..."
"Well, to be quite honest, I don't think they care right now," Max smiled, gesturing towards his deeply sleeping friends. "Rest up, Rei."
"Will do," Rei said, teeth chattering slightly. He snuggled up in all six blankets, indulging in his mound of fuzzy warm goodness.
Max walked out of the room, leaving his friends to rest. He was suddenly aware of the pang in his stomach that was hunger. "That's right, we haven't eaten for the longest time," he said to himself.
He walked into the kitchen area. It was nice and simple, yet had good quality appliances. There was a gigantic fridge. He looked in the fridge and found an abundance of food! The food in the fridge alone would last well over the month. He smiled, and pulled out carrots, celery and an onion. From the well-stocked cupboards he found noodles and chicken stock.
He found a gigantic pot, and filled it with water. He lugged it over to the stove, with some difficulty since it was so heavy, then turned the stove on. He added the chicken stock, marvelling at how so little was required.
"I wonder what I do now," he thought to himself. "I know this is what I need for chicken soup... oh, right! I have to cut these up," he remembered, and grabbed a knife from the drawer. He began to chop the celery, carefully so he wouldn't cut himself. "Eeps," he said as the knife almost slipped and cut his finger. "I've gotta be more careful."
So he continued to cut the celery, extremely slowly, then proceeded to do the onions and carrots. It took him nearly half an hour to do just that. He turned around to put the carefully chopped vegetables in the pot, when... "AAAH!!" Max yelled, as he saw the pot was bubbling over onto the floor!
He dropped the vegetables, spilling many on the floor, and looked for a mop, or something to clean up with, not even thinking to turn the stove off.
"Max?" Hilary mumbled. His cry had woken her up. Max hid behind a couch, not wanting to face the wrath of Hilary. She groggily stumbled to the kitchen. What she saw definitely startled her, waking her fully.
"MAX! What happened here?!" She yelled, pointing at the giant mess of boiling soup bubbling onto the floor and vegetables scattered all over the floor and counter. She was sick, but hadn't lost her voice. She noticed a knife teetering on the edge of the counter, along with water sprayed all over the walls and countertop.
Rei tossed aside his gigantic mass of blankets and walked into the kitchen because of the commotion. "What happened?" he mumbled, still lethargic.
"Rei! You're okay!" Hilary smiled, hugging her friend. She flinched a little at how cold he still was.
"And you too, Hilary," He smiled. "Thanks to Max."
"Where IS Max, anyway?" she asked, slightly evilly. "He seems to have left a mess, and fled."
"Ugh. What did he DO?" he wondered, staring at the mayhem.
"I was trying to make chicken soup to make you guys feel better," a meek voice said from behind the couch.
Rei and Hilary sweat-dropped, looking at each other, not knowing what to say. It was most definitely a sweet, kind gesture. However, he had failed miserably and left an enormous mess.
"It's okay..." Rei groaned wearily. Hilary sighed. "Just, how about you don't try again any time soon, kay?" Max nodded, like a schoolchild being told off by a teacher. He skipped off happily, now that he hadn't been severely mutilated by Hilary, leaving the two alone in the kitchen.
As soon as he left, they both groaned. "I'll take care of the soup and knife if you get the vegetables and walls," Rei sighed. Hilary nodded, annoyed.
"Well, it was a nice idea," Hilary said, picking up the stupid little pieces of carrots, celery and onion.
"Yeah," Rei agreed, grabbing a mop and bucket after hastily turning off the stove. "Let's just hope he doesn't have any more nice ideas," he laughed.
They cleaned up quickly, leaving the kitchen spotless once again. "I'm going back to bed," Rei mumbled.
"Me too," Hilary yawned. The two walked back to the bedroom. "Do you really need ALL those blankets?" she questioned, seeing his gigantic mound of warm blankets and sheets.
"You bet," he grinned, and climbed under all five blankets. Hilary sighed.
"Whatever. I'll just have to take Kai's," she grinned. She climbed into her empty bed that happened to be beside him, and pried the blanket from his sleeping form. Rei stifled a laugh as he saw Kai shift in his sleep. Hilary jumped, for fear of being caught. Luckily, he was still fast asleep. Hilary gave a sigh of relief.
"Had you scared there," Rei mumbled. He was already falling asleep.
"Have a good sleep, Rei," she whispered softly, but he didn't reply as he was already in a deep slumber.
Max heard them go back to the bedroom. He grinned, and walked back into the kitchen. He walked to the cupboard and decided he would attempt to make some pasta.
"Hey, how about that? There are convenient instructions on how to make the pasta perfectly! And it also says how to make a great sauce! This is awesome!" Max smiled; he was ready to wow them with his pasta. "These look awfully small," he said to himself, so he grabbed five packages of pasta.
He got out a large pot, and filled it with some water. He chose a giant one so there was no way it would flow over. This time he turned the tap on slowly and carefully, so it wouldn't ricochet and hit the walls like last time. He put the pot on the stove and turned it on high. Then he dragged a chair to the stove and watched it boil.
While he was watching the stove, he read the package several times over. "Yeah, I bet I can do this!" he said to himself. "Put pasta in water when it reaches boiling. Hey, look at that! It's starting to boil!"
He watched it intently until the water reached boiling. He then carefully poured the pasta in. "Okay, now I have to wait until it's done. In the meantime, I'll prepare the sauce."
He followed the instructions ever so carefully, and was thoroughly pleased with himself. He had managed to strain the pasta without spilling or burning himself, made the sauce with ease, and the pasta was at the perfect tenderness.
He set the table for five, and placed the giant pot on the table with some difficulty. "Wow, it really grew," he said to himself. "Good thing I chose a gigantic pot! Rei! Hilary! Kai! Tyson! I made pasta! It's time for dinner!" He yelled as he ran into their room. He could smell the delicious aroma from the bedroom.
The four stirred, and eventually got out of bed. They walked out of the bedroom single file, all tired and exhausted. Max looked delighted with himself, and bounced out of the room to unveil his gourmet masterpiece.
"Food!" Tyson grinned. He was awake now. He stared at the ENORMOUS pot of pasta.
"Hey, I thought you weren't supposed to be cooking?" Hilary scolded. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Chill, Hilary. Even Max can make Kraft Dinner."
^^^^^
"Hey, Ozuma! What's wrong?" Mariam asked, seeing her usually stoic leader looking so shaken and sad.
"Mariam... it's the Bladebreakers," he said, his voice sad and distant.
Mariam gasped. "What happened? Is Max okay? Are the others safe?"
"No," he said so softly that Mariam could barely hear him. "Kenny got an email confirming that they... are dead, Mariam." He concluded in a voice less than a whisper.
"What? That can't be true!" Mariam's face looked fallen. "How can you be so sure, Ozuma," she demanded, suddenly angry. "The email could have been false!"
He shook his head solemnly. "There was a picture attached... they had drowned in a maze filled with water. I saw the picture with my own eyes," he said remorsefully.
Mariam's face paled. "No..." she whispered. "Max!"
"We must inform the others," Ozuma said, hiding his grief once again. He turned and walked away, giving the distressed girl some time alone.
"Max... I'm sorry," Mariam said to the sky. "You were my friend, and always will be. I'll never forget you." Tears rolled down her pale cheeks, as she cried all alone.
^^^^^
"Ugh, stop it you two. Max, how much Kraft Dinner did you make?!" Rei wondered. He had eaten two bowls already. Hilary and Kai had each managed two as well, and Max and Tyson seemed to be competing. Max had conquered five, Tyson had already had six, and neither seemed to be wearing. There was still a large quantity of the neon orange substance left in the giant pot.
"Um, five boxes," Max said through mouthfuls of macaroni. Rei grimaced. Hilary had a look of pure disgust on her face - bits of Tyson and Max's macaroni were in her hair, as she was sitting between the two. Some more had just sprayed from his mouth to her hair. Kai watched amusedly as the almost glowing pasta accumulated in her hair.
At last she couldn't stand it. "I'm going back to bed. But FIRST I'm taking a shower!" she yelled. "Max and Tyson, you clean up this mess. Immediately after, everyone should get some sleep. Got it?"
"Yes, queen Hilary," Tyson and Max said sarcastically, simultaneously spraying her further with the disgusting pasta.
She screamed, whacked them both on the head, and ran to the bedroom for cover. Rei and Kai headed back to the bedroom as well, avoiding flying macaroni from the ongoing contest.
"Hey Rei," Hilary asked. "Did you get the new clothes from the closet and drawers?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah I guess I did," he said, sleepily crawling back into bed.
"You know, that green really looks good on you, Rei," Hilary commented as she searched through the drawers.
"Thanks," he mumbled. He hadn't even noticed he was wearing green.
"Oh!" Hilary's face lit up as she found the outfits for her. She grabbed one and walked into the bathroom.
When Tyson and Max had finally finished eating (Tyson had won the contest by eating directly out of the pot) and cleaning up, they walked into the bedroom to see Rei, Hilary and Kai all in bed, asleep. Rei was hidden under a pile of all six blankets (he had reclaimed Kai's original blanket).
"D'you think Rei would mind if we took two of his blankets?" Tyson asked. He reached over to take two when he heard a muffled "mmph" from under the mound. "Oh, sorry about that buddy. Guess we don't get blankets tonight," he shrugged. Rei smiled slightly and nodded in agreement. Tyson and Max shot him an annoyed glare.
"You're STILL cold?" Max asked. Rei held out his hand in response. When Max walked over, Rei grabbed his arm. Max let out a cry at the sudden coldness. "It's still like ice!" Max exclaimed.
"I know," Rei frowned. "But I'm sure it'll be better in the morning," he reassured his friend, not wanting to plague him with guilt.
"Okay. Goodnight," he smiled, and fell asleep. This time, his dreams were pleasant and peaceful. Instead of sinking in his nightmares, he was floating in dreamy clouds.
^^^^^
Tyson woke up early the next morning to the sound of a... school bell? "Ugh, make it stop," he moaned.
"Get up, Tyson! It's time for your lesson!" Hilary said, still ringing the school bell.
Tyson sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes. He saw in front of him Hilary yelling at them to get up, Max who was covering his ears, and Kai who looked still half-asleep and very annoyed.
"Get up!" she yelled again, causing Tyson to hustle out of bed. "That's better. Rei!" she said, shaking what she figured was Rei buried under all six blankets.
"Mmph," his cry was muffled under the mass of covers.
"Rei, are you well enough to do your lesson?" Hilary asked the blankets. Rei emerged from under the blankets enough for his face to show. He held out his hand and touched it to Hilary's face. She shrieked with surprise.
"How can your hands still be so cold?" Hilary wondered. Rei shrugged slightly. Max frowned. Now Hilary and Rei exchanged motions; Hilary put her hand on Rei's face. She found he was cold and clammy. His face was extremely pale, as well.
"I guess not, then," she said, sadly. "I hope you feel better."
"Hey, wait!" he said as they were walking out the door. "Just give me some of the work, and I'll try my best to do it."
"Are you sure, Rei?" Hilary asked, although seemed pleased.
"Yeah, man. I wouldn't want to do it if I could get out of it," Tyson admitted.
"I'm positive," he smiled. "Thanks." Hilary quickly left and came back with a pile of textbooks, binders, notebooks and a pencil case.
"Here you go," she said, dropping them on the bed beside him. "Do what you can. We'll be in the classroom if you need us."
They walked out the door, leaving Rei alone in the bedroom. He sighed. He saw the outline Hilary had left... 50 algebra problems, a novel he had to read along with a book report he had to complete on it, a 1300 word history report, 3 geography maps to complete, and a chapter out of the science textbook.
He sighed and picked up a pencil. He was sure that at least ten of the brand new pencils would be so small he wouldn't be able to write with them after he got through all of this.
^^^^^
"Alright, it's time for math," Hilary said cheerily. Tyson groaned, Max shrugged and Kai just stared ahead tiredly.
Hilary was still amazed at the mini-classroom. It had big chalkboards all around, four desks and two teacher's desks. There were neat stacks and shelves full of books and textbooks. There was a big supply closet, and pencil cases and workbooks lay on the desks in front of the Bladebreakers. In fact, their pencil cases even matched them: Tyson's turquoise, Max's purplish, Rei's yellow and Kai's red.
She wrote the work they had to do on the board in neat printing. "1-50" it read. Now they all looked peeved.
"Now I guess I'll just let you guys work, and you ask me when you need help or need me to explain something," she said brightly. "And when you finish, you can give it to me to mark and start reading your novel."
"Yeah right, like we're ever gonna finish," Tyson muttered under his breath.
Max immediately shot up his hand. "Hilary! Can you explain question 1?"
"Um... sure, Max," she said, and started writing on the board. "So it's find the value of x. So in question one, 2x=20, to get x we have to divide both sides by 2."
"Okay," Max nodded. "Then what?"
"Well as you can see, we have x=10 already. That's all there is to it," she smiled.
"Oookay," Max said slowly. "I think I get this!"
"Good," she sighed. She watched them write and furiously rub out their answers. She noticed an irritated look on Tyson's face. "Need help, Tyson?"
"No," he said adamantly.
'Yeah right, Tyson,' she thought to herself. "Okay then... let's just do it together. Even if you don't need help maybe someone else will." She knew this wasn't true - Max wasn't even on that question yet and she saw that Kai was already on the next page.
"Yeah, okay. So for question eight..."
^^^^^
"B-O-R-E-D," Rei wrote on his paper then lazily erased it. He wanted to talk to someone - he felt lonely. He totally understood algebra.
"Question 43," he read aloud. If he couldn't talk to anyone else he would just have to settle for his own voice as company. "If Maxine has five times as much candy as Tyler, and together they have thirty bags, how many bags of candy does Tyler have... well I'd say Tys- I mean Tyler would have 15 in total after stealing from Maxine, since that would only be fair." Rei sighed, before writing down "Tyler would have 5 bags of candy."
He trudged on through the tedious homework, quickly and efficiently. The novel he was required to read was exceptionally boring, and he fell asleep partway through.
"You can't hide from me forever," a chilling voice entered his sleep. "I will find you," it whispered, causing Rei to shiver with fear.
"What happened?" Rei demanded after finding his voice.
"I'll tell you what happened," the voice came that was of the scientist. Rei instinctively knew that he went by 'Dr D', as it came into his mind. His voice seemed cruelly pleasured by their pain.
"Rei, it seems your so-called friend has attempted your rescue," Dr D's gloating voice came.
"You mean Kenny?" Rei asked, hopefully.
"Yes, him, the poor pathetic fool. He actually succeeded in hacking into our systems," he said, angrily. Rei managed to smile. "But you know I will find you. It's just a matter of time. You can't escape, Rei Kon."
Rei just glared ahead, as the voice didn't seem to have a body. "In the meantime, I sent your friend a message..." Rei frowned. What could he have sent? An image of them lying lifeless flashed in his mind.
He gasped. "That's just wrong! You told him we were dead? That's so cruel!"
"Au contraire, Rei. I told him nothing of the sort. You know a picture is worth a thousand words... and your own picture has left a scalding impression on your former friend. And right now..."
Kenny's image appeared in his head. A dangerously depressed Kenny, with tears rolling down his cheeks. He appeared to be contemplating suicide. Rei gasped. "You sick..."
"Oh, there's more," he gloated evilly. It seemed that so many already knew about their supposed 'death'.
Pictures of weeping, downhearted friends flashed one by one in his mind. He tried to shut out the horrid images but they just kept coming.
Mr Dickenson... "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault," his distant voice wept. Tyson's grandpa was suddenly so sombre and lifeless. The Saint-Shields, seemingly stoic bladers, were all teary-eyed. Zeo, his artificial tears flowed freely down his face. Judy looked a complete wreck - her normally calm composure had been destroyed. The All-Starz were shaken and some were crying.
But Rei's heart nearly stopped when he saw... Mariah.
^^^^^
End of Chappie!
Well, I must say that was a slightly different chapter. It was long! Please review! You don't know how much reviews help. Well, actually you probably do if you write your own fics! So, spread that warm fuzzy feeling and click that review button. Thanks so much!
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